Ian Clement Fosgate, 21-year-old from Quezon City, Philippines, has only been working as a full-time freelancer for five months. Yet, he already has a profile that boasts of his 5-star rating and a shiny Preferred Freelancer badge. These things back up all the effort he has put into his thriving freelance career.

Local Employment Versus Freelance Work

To freelancer over local employment was no easy feat for Ian. Although local employment offered stability, Ian turned to freelancing because of three reasons -- convenience, variety, and flexibility.

Having the option to work at home at any given time was key in Ian’s decision. He opted to work on Freelancer because he wanted to spend most of his hours helping his father at home.

“My dad quit his job when I was in first grade to take care of me and my brother, while my mom worked abroad as a nurse in Qatar,” shared Ian about the sacrifices his parents made. “I chose Freelancer because it allows me to earn a good amount of money in a short span of time. Once I am able to support the whole family, I’d like to convince my mother to retire and come home to the Philippines.”

Freelancer has given Ian the opportunity to impact the lives of his family. Ian is now able to support his family by paying their utility bills. He also assists with the expenses of sending his brother to school.

Ian continues to hone his skills in advanced web scraping and web programming to accommodate the variety of projects he can bid for. He looks to further enhance his skills to serve his clients even better. His goal is to provide his clients with quality services that are beyond their expectations.

Down Time

Although very active at work, Ian also knows when to have a good time. Either, he spends an hour or two with his college friends in malls or he flies his drone. Flying his drone really relaxes him. A mere 15 minutes brings him much needed rest and rejuvenation.

Working hard has given him the privilege of starting new hobbies. He also collects action figures, mostly Gundam figurines. “I love hobbies that have nothing to do with computers. As my job circulates around computers, I'd like to keep away from them during my down time,” uttered Ian.

“Freelancer has skyrocketed me into a really good position where I can provide for my family. It has taught me a multitude of skills and has privileged me with the opportunity to work when, where and how I want to,”